Alabama child sex suspect pleads guilty to faking his own death and fleeing to Thailand

A 28-year-old north Alabama man pleaded guilty Thursday to faking his own death and fleeing to another country to avoid prosecution.

Jackson Matthew Hall’s guilty plea was announced by Northern District of Alabama U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General Special Agent in Charge Rod Owens. Hall entered the plea before U.S. District Judge R. David Proctor to charges of social security fraud and aggravated identity theft.

“Mr. Hall thought he could get lost in Thailand and avoid federal prosecution,” Town said. “Instead - because of the hard work and dedication of the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, the United States Marshal Service, the State Department, and the Morgan Country Sheriff’s office - justice found him.”

According to Hall’s plea agreement, he was facing criminal charges of first-degree rape and first-degree sodomy in involving a young victim under the age of 12 in Cullman County. He also was facing an aggravated child abuse charge in Madison County.

Hall had pending court dates in both counties in March 2016 and April 2016. Between December 2015 and February 2016, however, authorities said Hall used another person’s information to obtain a social security card, an Alabama driver’s license, and a U.S. passport. He then faked his death and used those documents to travel out of the country.

Authorities said a fisherman in Morgan County found Hall’s wallet and clothes, with blood nearby. It appeared to investigator’s that it was staged. He hitched a ride to a Huntsville bus station and took a bus to Canada. He then used a fake passport to fly to Chicago and then to Japan and eventually Thailand.

According to published reports, he was going by the name Tyler Doran and searching for teaching jobs in South East Asia.

In September 2017, Hall was captured in Koh Samui, Thailand by Thai authorities. In October 2017, the U.S. Marshals Service, along with a Madison County task force officer assigned to the Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force traveled to Bangkok and took custody of Hall and transported him back to the U.S.

The maximum penalty for social security fraud is five years in prison and maximum fine of $250,000. The penalty for aggravated identity theft is two years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.

The Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, along with U.S. Marshals Service Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force, State Department, and the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Davis Barlow is prosecuting.